


Soulmotes

by auspizien



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Idiots in Love, M/M, Romantic Soulmates, Soulmates, Soulmotes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:28:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23993770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/auspizien/pseuds/auspizien
Summary: After Thriller Bark, Zoro forces Sanji to deal with the fact that they're soulmates.~[Written for art for my soulmotes au; where you get a soulmote over your head when you meet your soulmate.]
Relationships: Roronoa Zoro/Vinsmoke Sanji
Comments: 8
Kudos: 379





	Soulmotes

Tossing aside his spent cigarette, Sanji pulled out a fresh one and focused on lighting it as he reluctantly followed after the idiot swordsman. It had been nearly three days and Zoro had finally woken after the incident with Kuma, Sanji had been hoping they could leave it all unspoken, but when Zoro had found him after dinner and made a silent gesture to follow him; well, Sanji knew he wasn’t going to be that lucky.

They came to a stop among a particularly isolated place of the endless rubble, and Zoro turned to face Sanji. He still looked rough, face gaunt and movements stiff, all the bandages covering him from head to toe making him look even worse. At least there was some colour back in his cheeks.

It was quiet for a long time before Zoro spoke.

"You didn’t tell them."

"Wasn't mine to tell." Sanji shrugged, puffing absently on his smoke while glancing around the place with bored disinterest. He tapped some of the ash off the end of his cigarette, "That shitty skeleton and a couple of the unzombified jerks know though."

Zoro made an indifferent noise.

It seemed like the conversation was just as laborious and uncomfortable for the swordsman, which really made Sanji question why he wanted to have it. Honestly, he had expected a silent truce, maybe a shared glance of understanding, and then to never speak about this ever again.

Leave it to the stupid swordsman to fuck that up.

Pulled from his thoughts by Zoro stepping towards him, Sanji wearily placed his cigarette back between his lips and watched the other approach. He was calm until he saw Zoro’s gaze flicker up to Sanji’s soulmote and he realized with horror what the dumb mosshead was trying to do.

"Oi, oi, oi!" Jumping back, Sanji's arm lashed out only for Zoro to catch it in a fast grip. He was still weak from taking Luffy's pain, but the hold was steadfast as Sanji struggled to pull his wrist free, "Back up, mosshead!"

Placing a foot to Zoro's hip and hand on his face, Sanji did his best to push the other man away while keeping his soulmote as far away from the swordsman as possible. He tried to aim for areas where the guy wasn't injured, which was nearly impossible.

"Stop struggling, cook."

"Hell no, shithead!" Sanji barked, tilting his head and body as far back as he could while still keeping Zoro at arm's length. Spitting his cigarette ineffectively against the swordsman’s face only to have it fall to the ground, "Let go!"

With an aggravated huff, Zoro stopped trying to drag Sanji closer, but he didn't release his ironclad grip. Sanji relaxed minutely, but still kept his guard up as he levelled Zoro with the same hard glare he was being given. Heaving an annoyed sigh, Zoro grunted, "Neither of us wanna talk about it--"

"No shit!" Sanji snapped, renewing his struggles and once more trying to jerk his wrist out of Zoro's hand. "What gave it away?!"

"So let's just make it easy."

Freezing with his foot now braced on Zoro’s shoulder and his body arching as far back it could go to pull away from Zoro’s grip, Sanji glared up at the sky. He knew the swordsman had a point, and he knew the guy wasn’t just talking about Kuma; he was talking about everything.

Their feelings that had obviously been growing ever since they started sailing together, the time they accidentally bonded and realized each other's feelings, all the stuff they’d been ignoring until Kuma threatened to tear all of it apart; if anything they had put this off for far too long already.

If anything they were lucky to both still be here; soulmotes intact.

Slowly straightening and lowering his leg, Sanji stood in front of Zoro and did nothing to hide his displeasure. Just because he had grown fond of the guy didn’t mean he liked the idea of letting him poke around inside his head, regardless of the fact they were supposedly soulmates.

Sanji's mouth crinkled unpleasantly. "Fine."

With a final pointed look, Zoro stepped forward and ducked his head. Sanji could see the man's eyes falling shut as he pressed his forehead lightly against the cook's, and a blush stained Sanji's cheeks at the weirdly docile gesture from the usually feral man. It was the last thought he had before Zoro's soulmote melded with his.

It was as disconcerting as the first time it accidentally happened, but a lot less startling now that he knew what to expect. His body trembled at the sensation, but unlike last time when it had only lasted a moment before Sanji had kicked Zoro off him in a panic, now he got to fully experience the miraculous way his body, mind, and soul felt saturated with a sensation of wholeness.

No words or completed thoughts passed between them, but immediately Sanji implicitly knew everything Zoro was feeling and thinking. All his memories and emotions came flooding in as a tangled wave until Sanji couldn't tell where his own insecurities ended and Zoro's began; he was adrift in a vast ocean of clarity.

Moments of childhood blended with those of weeks prior. The present combined with the past until Sanji couldn’t tell where his body began, and the visions and emotions of his - and Zoro’s - past selves started. Sanji was having trouble filtering through everything, but at the forefront of the thousands of flickering images was his back as he faced the ominous, looming figure of Kuma; raw terror ripped at his insides that certainly didn't belong to him. However, it was followed immediately by a surge of relief as he saw himself fall to the ground unconscious by Zoro's hand.

There were so many other conflicting emotions - seething anger and reluctant adoration, aggravated irritation and heartbreaking melancholy, stubborn determination and chilling fear - all of it roiling within Zoro like a storm. And it was easy to see now just how hard that moment had been for the swordsman, not just for the crew, not just for Luffy, but for what he felt for Sanji.

A touch brought him back to his body as he felt Zoro’s hand raise to brush gentle fingers across the bruise that he knew sat underneath Sanji’s hoodie. Nasty, twisted, and swollen, Zoro hadn’t exactly held back when he had thrust the pommel of his katana against Sanji’s ribs; Chopper confirmed there were definitely a few broken by the unmitigated asshole.

Everything came to a grinding halt and Sanji's whole body burned with a sensation he couldn't even begin to describe, but it was coupled with the vivid image of Sanji stumbling up to a bloody Zoro, anguish on his face. And it took a while to really understand that it was Zoro’s joy - his painful relief - at seeing the cook one last time before crumpling into Sanji’s arms and everything went black.

It was a lot to handle, and Sanji tried to stamp down how embarrassingly happy seeing - knowing - all this made him feel.

Because just as he was privy to everything Zoro saw, and felt, even the dark recesses of his mind he preferred to ignore, Zoro was no doubt seeing and understanding everything Sanji had been through as well. There were darker parts he hoped Zoro would never go, but he was beginning to realize it wouldn't be so bad if it was this guy that got to see them. It was embarrassing as hell, but at least he could tell that Zoro was just as mollified by everything happening right now.

That at least earned a wry smile from Sanji.

Raising a hand to carefully cradle Zoro’s injured arm, he brushed his fingers across only some of the many, many bandages wrapped around the man. He could tell his hand was shaking, but he was so far past caring as he nudged his head forward to gently bump against Zoro’s, fully embracing their melding at this point. All the initial shock and awe of finally getting their messy emotions on the table was finally over, and what was left a tranquil calm as their souls finally connected after so long apart.

It was a lot to handle and he didn’t know what was going to happen next, or how the hell they were going to make it work, but he knew it was going to be okay.

And he knew Zoro felt the exact same.


End file.
